The Decibel

As U.S. President Donald Trump has continued to ratchet up threats against Greenland , Canada has weighed plans to send soldiers there as part of a NATO exercise. In a speech at the Davos Conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed support for Greenland , but did not say whether Canada would indeed send troops. Meanwhile, according to senior government officials, the Canadian Armed...

Last week, Quebec Premier François Legault announced his resignation amidst plummeting poll numbers, while acknowledging Quebeckers are calling for change. The state of the province’s politics are now in flux, as the Parti Quebecois surge in popularity and a possible referendum on Quebec’s sovereignty is on the horizon. Konrad Yakabuski , Globe columnist and Quebec politics writer, discusses Legau...

The flu season hit Canada hard and fast this year, seemingly reaching its peak in late December . But it’s not over yet: one public health official says we’re still in the ‘ heavy, middle part ’ of flu season. Alanna Smith explains what’s different about this year’s dominant variant of the influenza virus and the impact it’s having on Canada’s health care system. Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail...

What happens when we stop rushing around and pause to take in the vastness of the world around us? In this episode of Happy Enough, we explore awe — the emotion that can make you feel surprisingly small, and, at the same time, happier. To break down the science behind awe and why it makes us feel better, Garvia speaks with Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the author of ‘A...

In less than a year, U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term has re-shaped the international order. From levying tariffs against much of the world, turning against long-standing allies , capturing Venezuela’s president , and threatening to annex Greenland – the U.S. has flouted international law and ignored the traditional rules-based order. Michael Byers , Canada research chair on global politi...

For weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to annex Greenland , an autonomous region of Denmark. That led to a meeting on Wednesday between a delegation of Danish and Greenland foreign ministers and U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The two sides did not seem to come to any kind of conclusion . The Globe’s Europe correspondent, Paul Waldie , is in Greenl...

Protests in Iran ramped up over the weekend after the Islamic Republic regime – ruled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – instituted an internet and phone blackout. But despite this, reports started to come out about a crackdown . On Tuesday, an Iranian official said the death toll, composed of both protesters and security personnel, was over 2,000 people . The protests have garnered some global supporter...

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney will head to China , marking the first time a Canadian prime minister has gone to China since 2017. Recent interactions between Canada and China have been wracked with tension and international incidents . But there is much at stake in this meeting, with Canada looking for new trade partners as the United States becomes increasingly unreliable. Steven Chase is...

The new year is upon us and for some of us, that means New Year’s resolutions. These goals often involve improving our fitness, or going to the gym more often. But that’s not always cheap with gym membership and classes costing more and more . In today’s episode, host Sherrill Sutherland and The Globe’s healthy living reporter, Graham Isador, try a class at one of Toronto’s luxury gyms, Sweat and...

Today is Chrystia Freeland ’s last day in Canadian politics, but she still plans to work in government – just not this one. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had appointed the former Liberal cabinet minister his new economic adviser. The news sparked a week of backlash in Ottawa, as many raised concerns that a sitting member of parliament working with a foreign go...

The new year is a time of goal setting. Culturally, there’s pressure to set resolutions that you are meant to achieve in due course. Think: weight loss, healthy eating, a new hobby. But what if you commit to something you know you can’t achieve? And what if you make that your life’s work? Mark Medley , the Deputy Editor of The Globe’s Opinion section, and author of ‘Live to See the Day: Impossible...

Following the U.S. attack on Venezuela , President Donald Trump referenced the Monroe Doctrine – a centuries-old ideology that posits American control and dominance in the Western hemisphere. That idea was also cited in the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy outlining U.S. foreign policy. After campaigning on non-intervention, is this now Trump’s blueprint for dealing with the r...

U.S. President Donald Trump was clear on Saturday when he announced his administration’s plans for the future of Venezuela : “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he told the world . But how feasible is...

On Saturday, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. military forces in an early morning raid that included attacks on the capital city of Caracas. Since September, the U.S. has conducted deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats from Venezuela, as U.S. President Donald Trump accused Maduro of leading a criminal organization. The future of the Latin American country is uncert...

After a year that was truly one for the books in Canadian politics — from Trudeau’s resignation to Trump’s trade war , an “ elbows up ” election, Pierre Poilievre losing his seat , Jagmeet Singh resigning his leadership , and the prospect of a new Pacific pipeline — 2025 has come to a close. What will 2026 hold? Stephanie Levitz is a senior reporter with The Globe’s Ottawa Bureau, and she’s on the...

Most schools are now off for winter break — but this year, some educators are wondering how much their students are learning. A KPMG survey found that over 70 per cent of Canadians over 18 years old now use generative AI to complete their school work. Professors and students are concerned that a growing reliance on tools like ChatGPT and Gemini could be weakening critical thinking skills . Recent...

Maryam Fatima was born with a condition called hemimegalencephaly , a rare birth defect where one side of the brain is abnormally large. She suffered from severe seizures from the moment she was born. They became so bad that they stopped Maryam from feeding, sleeping and breathing. Her life was at risk. That’s when a team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto decided to attempt a first-in-C...

Canadians have been spending a lot of time thinking about identity and their relationship to Canada. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war drags on , taking an ‘Elbows Up’ approach isn’t just about economics – it’s also cultural. Many of the songs and albums that make up the soundtrack to your life are written and performed by Canadian artists – and they’ve helped shape what this country soun...

The winter holidays are a time to cozy up with family – even if those family members are furry and of a different species. For many, dogs and cats aren’t just animals, they’re cherished loved ones who come into our lives at the exact moment we need them. This holiday season, The Decibel’s editor David Crosbie , Globe and Mail staffers and Canadians share personal stories about how they met their p...

Many factors of modern life can make time feel like it’s moving faster than it actually is: hustle culture at work, a productivity compulsion at home, over-programmed kids – they’re all attempts to get as much as possible out of our time and keep up with the frantic pace of life. But life also has moments where time feels like it’s slowing down, or even stops. We know that time can’t actually slow...

The Canadian television show Heated Rivalry has found major success not just in Canada, but with American audiences, too . The show, a love story between two male hockey players, has broken television streaming records and taken over social media. The Globe’s television critic J. Kelly Nestruck joins The Decibel to talk about why Heated Rivalry has resonated with so many people, and how significan...

Canadian counter-intelligence military officer Matthew Robar, is facing charges of espionage. The veteran military officer is accused of sharing information with Ukraine in its war against Russia, according to a source for The Globe and Mail. Robar was arrested last week, and charged with multiple offences related to passing highly sensitive government secrets to a foreign entity. Steven Chase , a...

This travel season, Canadians might be headed away for something other than a vacation . More Canadians are participating in medical tourism, travelling to another country to receive medical treatment, though some question its safety and the threats this poses to Canada’s public health care system. Sarah Bartnicka , a freelance writer for The Globe, explains the costs, the risks and what Canadians...

The attack on Jewish Australians at Bondi Beach in Sydney has sent shockwaves around the world. To many in Jewish communities, it mirrors previous antisemitic attacks seen in countries around the world over the past several years.  Globe columnist and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette executive editor David Shribman joins The Decibel. He covered the Tree of Life shooting in 2018, where 11 Jewish people were...

Loyalty reward programs are everywhere we shop. They’re at coffee shops, retailers, airports and grocery stores. Many of us are connected to our points, but the rewards no longer seem to go as far as they used to . Vass Bednar , the managing director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute, explains the changes to Canadian loyalty rewards programs, what we are giving up when we hand companies our data in...